Living the Dream
by NeonZangetsu
Summary: On a fateful sunny afternoon, a young man set out to make a name for himself; to do as many a pirate once sought to do before; to find One Piece. To find a ship, nakama, and crew. He lives for the sake of but a single dream. However, just who is this Strawhat he keeps running into? Narutoxharem! Romance, action, adventure, and all that good stuff! One Piece Crossover!
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Well, this was bount to happen sooner or later. I've been on such a One Piece craze as of late, I'm amazed it didn't happen earlier. I was catching up on old episodes for the sake of posterity when it hit me; gee, I wonder what it would be like to see Naruto characters in this universe? Not replacing Luffy or anything-Aa if such an thing could possibly happen!-but simply existing in this universe as One Piece versions of themselves all the same. This is the result of that thought. I swear if I write another new story without updating Imma chop my hand off! ARGH! Well, now that I've wasted five minutes of your time with this innane rant of mine...**

**...HERE YOU GO!**

_"Wanna turn the world upside down with me?"_

_~?_

**A Boy in a Barrel**

_It all began with a barrel._

He'd fallen asleep staring at the clouds again; this time, on a muggy saturday afternoon. Summer had the town in its crushing grip; a terrible heat wave having forced everyone but himself and the sailors of a merchant ship indoors to keep cool. There was little else he liked to do in this sleepy village _but_ nap. It was either that or watch the clouds float on by; because he swiftly grew bored with everything else. He liked to think himself a decent mapmaker and even on his worst day he could read all but the most ferocious of weather patterns. Today though...something didn't feel right. He couldn't focus on the clouds, so he opted to take a nap instead in the hopes that whatever was troubling him would soon pass.

Some claimed he'd eatern a devil fruit; how else could a young man of seventeen years read the weather without so much as backward glance? Nothing could be further from the truth. It was simply a tallent of his, one he would occasionally put to use to make a quick berri on the side. More often that not, he simply used it to watch the clouds. He just knew when something was coming, that was all.

His mother often chastised him for this so-called "lazziness", but in truth, Shikamaru Nara, much like his old man_-kami rest his soul-_was exceptionally brilliant. He'd bested some of the best minds in shogi and straetegy the world over; some even sought compare him to the genuis scientist, Vegapunk. But Shikamaru was no scientist. He couldn't tell a beaker from a teacup. He was simply a brilliant navigator, albeit a lazy one. And that was where the trouble lay. The navy, having heard of his renowned genius, wanted to recruit. In fact, they'd tried him on more than one occasion. But taking orders and scrubbing floors just wasn't Shikamaru's style; in his mother's mind it might be, but not his! Troublesome. Sooner or later, they wouldn't take no for an answer. What would he do then, he wondered? He didn't like the navy. They prattled on about justice and all, which was good, but when push came to shove, they really had their own interests in mind.

Still, he almost wished _something_ would happen in this sleepy little town every now and again. Something that didn't involve the marines trying to cotow him into service, or his mother nagging at him; trying to get him to make something of his life. No, it had to be something different. Something exciting. Something like...

_Ba-dump!_

The sound of something heavy struck the ground with a muffled _whump_, waking him with a start.

_Ugh, be careful what you wish for..._

"Shit this thing is heavy!" one of the merchant's groaned.

"What the hell's in there?! Lead?"

"Don't ask me! You're the one who found it!"

"Hmm?"

He creaked an eye open, mildly amused to find a pair of portly-looking men struggling with one of their barrels. Damn but the thing looked like it had seen better days. Although it was large -larger even than even who carried it- it looked as though it had been through hell. Unfortunately, or fortunately as he would later reflect some years later, his curiousity got the better of Shikamaru this time, today. Dusting off his dark slacks and brushing a hand against his faded green vest, the youth rose from his place amongst the tarps and approached said men and their barrel. His open-toed sandals clicked quietly against the dock, the two men didn't even seem to notice him until he called out to them.

"Having trouble?"

"What does it look like?!" One of them growled. "We found this damn thing in the water and its_...heavy!"_

In a rare lapse of character, he offered to lend the men a hand with their ridiculous heavy payload.

"Want me to open it?" he asked.

"Please!"

"Sure thing." Snatching up a nearby crowbar from where it lay, he approached them, twirling it expertly from his fingers. "Just stand back a bit." Leaning over the worn container, he began to pry it open. It was actually quite stiff at first, the water-logged wood refusing to give way despite his bests efforts to pry it open. Inch by inch, he was able to force the crowbar beneat the rim and slowly, surely, it began to yield...

"Stubborn little...

That was when all hell broke loose.

Scarce had he begun to wrest the lid away than his hackles bristled; the hairs on the back of his neck standing at attention in anticipation of some unseen threat. _What in the-? _His senses screamed a warning as a soft, distant keening sound reached his ears. It sounded like...someone screaming? He risked a glance upward and nearly froze. What was that speck on the horizon? Oi oi...

_Move!_

The Nara flung himself backward and not a moment too soon; because someone very large and very _heavy_ came crashing facefrst into the place he'd just vacated. The two men who'd been hauling the barrel...were not so fortunate. Had they been swifter to move they might've escaped. As it were they were crushed beneath the woman's weight. Because this was no mere cannonball that had come crashing down from the heavens, as the lazy genius looked on, as he peered into the smoke that had spread from the impact, he realized he was looking at a person.

"That damn Strawhat!" A voice hissed from within the cloud of dust. "How dare he send me flying!" Its owner waddled out of the smock with thick footsteps, cursing angrily all the while. "I'll kill him!"

Shikamaru found himself face to face with a large, corpulent woman, wearing-of all things-a white cowboy hat. He'd seen her fat, freckled face many a time; strewn on wanted posers halfway across the East Blue. A pit of dread opened in his stomach. This woman was "Iron Mace" Alvida, a woman with a bounty of five million berri on her head! What the devil was she doing here in this sleepy little town?! He began to hedge backwards to where he'd left his knives at the pier, but it was already too late.

"Oi, gaki!" She thrust her mace at Shikamaru. "Where the hell am I?!"

_'Shit!'_

Shikamaru froze. His brilliant brain was already hard at work; he knew he could take this woman _easily _once he got his weapons back. Now...he just needed to figure out how to get to his knives, before she swiped him with that massive mace of hers. Only a monster could survive a hit from that thing!

"Well, thats...

_Clank!_

A harsh thud reverberated through the dock. Miracuously, the barrel had survived the woman's impact. Now, it began to move.

"The barrel?"

As he looked on, the barrel-with the crowbar still stuck in it-began to move. It bucked and battered as though someone-or something-were actually trapped inside. Both pirate and genius balked at it in surprise. Balked, as the lid flew skyward, parting before a pair of armored fists.

_"ORA!"_

Suddenly, and without warning, a young man burst out of the barrel; exploding forth in a shower of splinters and timbre with a cry that could wake the dead.

As if that weren't exceptional enough, there was the matter of his attire. The boy from the barrel wasn't exactly tall nor did he seem intimidating per se, but there was something about him that instantly set Shikamaru on edge. A bright orange coat-orange of all things?!-emblazoned with dark flames hung over his shoulders like a mantle or some sort of jacket; almost obscuring the light teal vest he wore beneath. Dark slacks draped well pasts the youth's ankles, cutting of just above a pair of viscious-looking black combat boots.

Boots that now stepped out of the barrel, their owner wresting himself free of the barrel's remains as easily as one would tear through a paper bag. The youth stretched out his arms and yawned, wide enough to put a hole in the ozone layer.

"Aaaaaah," he sighed. "What a nice nap-hmm?"

He frowned, bright blue eyes regarding the scene before him with confusion. Brushed a hand through the shaggy mop of blond that was his hair. "Nani?" He blinked once, twice, thrice, his eyes fluttering open and shut with all the rapidity of a hummingbird's wingspan. "Where am I?" He blinked at Alvida. "Who's the old hag?"

Alvida bristled.

_"Hag?!"_

The blonde ignored her, turned his attention to Shikamaru. He brightened.

"Ah!" He grinned. "It's you! Thanks for fishing me out of that damned barrel!" He clasped his hands together and bowed. "Arigatou!" Shikamaru was inclined to reply that he hadn't been the one to do _anything,_ but he seriously doubted the blond would believe him.

"Um...just who are you?"

"Oh, my bad." The young man grinned and slapped his whiskered cheeks. "I'm Uzumaki D. Naruto. Nice ta meetcha!"

_D?_

Shikamaru blinked in surprise, his attention momentarily taken by the tattoo on Naruto's right arm.

Carved in the distinct likeness of a grinning fox, the skull leered at him, shrouded in what might've been flames. Nine tails of pure crimson were wrapped around the crossbones; winding their way into the kitsune's teeth in an eerie semblance of cannibalism. It almost looked as though the fox was devouring itself. And that grin! Even as Naruto blinked at him in confusion, he couldn't help but derive a small sound of dismay at the sight of it. This guy was...was...

"You're a pirate?"

"Yup." Naruto nodded, blisffully ignorant of the Nara's dismay. "Although...my ship was sunk by a Sea King." He laughed as though the idea of nearly being devoured actually amused him. "Man, that bastard really did startle me! I barely had enough time to stuff myself into this barrel! But putting that aside, I've got a question for ya!" His grin grew. "You wouldn't know how ta steer a ship by any chance, would ya?"

Shikamaru blinked in surprise.

"As a matter of fact...I do."

"That's great!" Naruto slapped him on the back, heedless of Alvida glowering behind him. "What's your name?"

...Shikamaru."

"That's a fine name!" Impossibly, Naruto's grin grew. "I think we were destined to meet, Shikamaru!"

"Destined?"

"Ya wanna join my crew and turn the world upside down with me?"

"Huh?!" This time, there could be no concealing his disbelief. "Crew? Turn the world upside down?! What are you, insane or something?!"

"Well of course!" Naruto laughed. "If I'm going to the grand line, then I'll need a crew! Someone who knows how to steer a ship, like you! And a cook, a musician and oh-

_"Kono-!"_

Alvida's mace barreled into the blonde's face, crushing cartilege and bursting cappillaries before he had time to blink. Sudden and unexpected, the strike sent Naruto sprawling backwards in a tangled clash of arms and limbs, launching him across to the dock to slam facefirst, his body buried in a pile of crates. He did not rise. A flyer fluttered out of his breast pocket.

"That's what you get for ignoring me!" Alvida cackled. "Repent for your crimes in hell, you bastard!"

Shikamaru facepalmed.

"That idiot...

"Now," The mace-bearing woman growled, "Where were we-

_"Oi oi oi oi..._

A splintering of wood cut off whatever else the woman might've said. A streak of orange and black erupted from the debris, rubble seeming to swirl around it like a thing alive. Shikamaru couldn't help but sweatdrop as Naruto exploded from the cloud, eyes narrowed in aggravation, covered in dust and dirst, but otherwise unharmed. The only real sign of injury was his nose; it had been twisted-broken-by the mace. Really, if anything, the blond looked more pissed than injured.

"Ow!" He cried, rubbing at the broken cartilege. "What the hell was that for, you old bag?! Ya ruined my speech! I was just about to ask him to be my nakama and everything!"

Shikamaru felt his jaw drop to the floor.

"ARE YOU EVEN HUMAN?!"

Naruto tilted his head aside.

"What kind of question is that?"

The spiky-haired man heaved a sigh of relief. That's right. This guy was normal. He had to be-

_"Of course I'm not human!"_

"OI!"

"I-Impossible!" the Alivda gawped, she could actually see _cracks_ in her mace where she'd struck the blond; several of the spikes had crumbled simply from striking his skull. "I've shattered entire faces with this thing! It doesn't make any sense! How could you-

"Oi oi," Naruto reared his head to look at her. "Just because you're strong...doesn't make me weaker now, does it?" Grunting, he flipped to his feet, reached hand up to his broken nose, snapped it back into place. "Ah!" He sighed. "That really _did_ hurt, ya know! I'll be sure to pay you back for that!" He dipped a hand into the pouches located at his waist; emerging with two deadly pronged kunai. Without pause or warning he flung one of them at Alvida, the deadly knife whistling towards her unprotected face.

"As if that would hit me!" the portly woman deflected it with her mace, sending the knife skittering away across the deck; failing to notice the letters as they faded into existence upon her weapon several seconds after the fact. Shikamaru did not. There, in bright white kanji, what looked like some sort of symbol had been inked on her mace. But what could it-

Naruto grinned toothily as he clutched his remaining knife. "It's not supposed to hit you _bakaaaa~."_

"Brat!"

Her mace swept through the empty air of an afterimage.

_"Over here!"_

Naruto whispered into existence behind her, grinning from ear to ear. Shikamaru balked. When had he gotten back there?

"Insolent little-

Alvida whirled to strike at him again. Naruto's hand locked around her wrist like a vice, holding her fast. The portly woman shrieked and struggled against him, but to no avail; she was forced to stare into the blood-red eyes of her agressor. "Let go!" She roared, spitting in his face. Naruto frowned, His fingers biting down with superhuman strength, eliiciting a yelp as they crushed the bone beneath, hairline fractures etching across the length of her wrist.

"Get your filthy hands off of me, you damn**-oof!**

Naruto said nothing, but he struck like a serpent, yelling his fury and giving his body the sharp countertwist that made his kicks so blindingly fast and powerful. Even Shikamaru who was looking straight at him, barely saw the strike. Naruto's shin crackled through the air and crushed against Alvida's face. Crushed it, inward. The crunching squish of _her_ nose being obliterated split the sudden silence and then she was gone; tumbling head over heels across the street like a flopping fish, flipping forward into and then through the unprepared wall of a neary shop.

_"Strike!"_ Naruto laughed, lowering his leg to punch at the air with a defiant fist. He retrieved his discarded weapon and returned it to its holster, grinning all the while. Then he saw the extent of the damage done to the shop and he went pale. "Ahahaha...well at least I didn't destroy the whole building-

The rest of the store promptly collapsed.

"Gah!" he cried!

_'He really isn't human!'_ Shikamaru almost cried out, such was his disbelief. Naruto wasn't even fretting over the destruction he'd accidentally wrought; he didn't even bother to apologize! If anything, he seemed almost satisfied with his work.

"Ahahaha...I'll have to pay for the damages when I get some money...

The sound of rubble shifting returned his attention to the one-sided battle; Alvida had begun to drag herself from the ruined shop, coughing and hacking and weezing in despair. She'd lost her cowboy had somewhere in the debris and most of her jacket was ripped, exposing skuff marks and unsightly rolls of fat. Shikamaru made a squelching sound of disgust. "Uck!" He felt ill just by looking at her!

"Unforgivable!" Alvida raged! "Absolutely un-freakin' forgivable! You little shit! I'll pulp your brains out on the pavement!"

"Come and get me then, fatty!" Naruto stuck out his tongue.

Shikamaru winced in the same instant that Alvida's face flushed a livid crimson. A low blow. His best friend Chouji _hated_ being called fat when they were kids. It seemed Alvida share the sentiment. Steam exploded out of her nostrils, a veritable bull seeing crimson.

_"Fatty?!"_

He skipped backwards as her mace mashed the portion of street he'd just occuppied. Shikamaru watched him retreat, heard him laugh as Alvida charged after him, swinging her mace like a reckless child. What the hell was he trying to do by riling her up like this? That was when it struck him, in the same instant that the woman's mace smashed harmessly against Naruto's arm. He was toying with her. He could've easily taken her out with another of those fearsome kicks of his, but he didn't. Instead he continued to zig and zag out of her line of sight, forcing her to expend precious energy, whilst he himself remained fresh as a daisy.

Finally, once she'd exhausted herself, he ceased his retreat.

"You...brat!" She rasped out, gasping for breath. "Why can't I hit you?!"

"It's no use," Naruto sighed, raising his remaining knife. "At your current level_...you're not even a warm up."_

"Y-You...!"

"It's over."

Without a word or warning, the boy's entire body seemed to flicker; one minute he was there, the next, he wasn't. Alvida had just enough time to gasp as he whispered into existence in front of her; crouched low to the ground, fingers clenched around a spiraling sphere of the color of aternoon skies. It seemed to grow larger within his palm as he held it; as though it were actively seeking release from his grasp. The overweight woman seemed to know it as well; she drew back in vain as the blonde pounced up at her.

"What?!"

_"That was Hiraishin."_ Naruto beamed brightly as he brought his armed arm backwards. "And this is...

**_"RASENGAN!"_**

Shikamaru gawped as Naruto slammed the spiralling sphere into the woman's gut with all the force of a typhoon. The sphere itself ground into Alvida's stomach, expanding upon contact with her skin; lifting the obeise woman from her feet as if she weighed no more than a rag doll. _"_Go flying!" Naruto roared, thrusting the sphere deeper, plunging the sphere through layer upon layer of fat to strike at the muscle beneath. Within only a few seconds "Iron Mace" Alvida was a mere pinprick on the horizon, hurtling back out to sea from whence she'd come.

"Gyahahaha!" Naruto whistled as he watched her fly. "That was perfect, ya know!"

Shikamaru was left aghast. He'd heard of devil fruit users, but he never thought he'd meet one face to face. Because that was what Naruto had to be. No one should be that fast; or be capable of turning their own inner energy into a weapon of mass destruction. No one! Numbed, he quietly collected his knives from where he'd left them and jammed them into the sheathes at his hip. Somehow, he doubted the weapons would be of any real use against someone like Naruto, but he felt safer having his mentor's tools at hand.

"H-H-How the hell did you do that back there?" he asked. "I couldn't even see you move!"

Naruto tilted his head.

"How else!" He laughed, childish in his delight. "I ate the Thunder God fruit, just like my old man! It's only natural that I'm fast! So whaddya say? Wanna be my nakama?"

Shikamaru blinked.

"Come again?"

"Didn't I tell you?" Naruto laughed. "I'm looking for people to join my pirate crew." Slowly, he began to count off his hand. "I think about twenty should do it, ya know? Oh, I mean nineteen. Because you're going to be my navigator. Although I still need a first mate...

Naruto looked at him expectantly.

"I refuse!" Shikamaru snapped! "You want me to become a bad guy? How troublesome...

Naruto blinked owlishly.

"Whats wrong with being a pirate?"

"Pirates are scum! Who would want to be one?!"

Naruto raised his hand.

"BESIDES YOU!"

"C'mon now, does it really matter?" the fruit user pointed a finger to his chest. "You don't look like you have anything better to do."

"Th-That doesn't mean I have to join you!"

"You're right!" The thunderman slapped a fist into his palm. "We need a ship first!" He scanned the harbor, his gaze alighting upon the very same merchant ship upon which Shikamaru had been napping. It was a small vessel all things considered, equipped with only a small sail to catch the wind. "Oh!" He grinned. "That looks like a good one for now!" Before Shikamaru could think to stop him Naruto was gone; vanishing in an orange flash in his peripheals, scrambling up the rigging like a monkey in a tree.

Even as the lazy genius walked after him the blonde was in motion, inspecting the sails, the rigging, the stern, all in the span of a few seconds thanks to the myriad powers of his fruit. He could hear the boy chattering aimlessly as he darted this way and that, heedless of the chaos he left in his wake.

"Hmm...she's small but it looks like she can endure a storm if ya handled it right." Naruto halted abruptly, thumbing his chin as he looked back at the disbelieving genius. "It's perfect for us to set sail in, Shikamaru! Ah, and look! It's even got a kitchen!" The Nara barely darted out of the way when Naruto dived past him again, jolting forward into the inner rooms. Seconds later, an exultant cry echoed up from the bowels of the ship. "I can't believe it! There's a cabin! An actual captain's cabin! Ands its fool of food! This ship is perfect! Although we'll eventually need a bigger one_...yosh!_ That settles it! We'll set sail today!"

"Us? Set sail? Don't decided for me!" Shikamaru unconciously jammed a hand into the pocket of his trousers. "Why should I join you?"

"Didn't I already tell you?" Naruto's head poked out of the cabin, grinning from ear to ear. "To turn the world upside down! For romance and adventure! What better reason does a man need these days, eh? Alright, lets set sail!"

Without the wind to warn him, Shikamaru found himself nearly bowled over as the self-titled captain zipped past him for the third and final time. Groaning, he picked himself up off the floor and followed outside, just in time to see Naruto take out a knife. He immediately put two and two together, just as the blond began sawing at the anchor line. He was going to take the ship out right here and now!

Oi!

_"Stop!"_ Shikamaru shouted, scrambling down the gangway after him. "You can't take this one!"

"Heh?" Naruto blinked, paused, his knife still poised to cut the rope. "Why not?"

"Because," The genius faltered, unwilling to admit that this was his favorite place to take a nap when his mother was nagging him. Already he was grasping at straws, desperately seeking some reason-any reason-to try and dissuade the coniving blond from snatching the ship out of the harbor and getting into kami-knew-what kind of trouble on the seas. In the end, he settled for the obvious answer.

"Because its not yours!"

"I'm a pirate!" Naruto stuck out his tongue. "That doesn't matter to me!"

"But-

"And I don't have to listen to you, bleh!"

_"Aaargh!"_

This guy was ridiculous! Exactly like his old man! Shikaku Nara had gone out to sea when Shikamaru was five years old, and they hadn't heard from him since. Most-including Shikamaru-assumed he'd perished on the seas, but there were times when he could've sworn his old man was still alive. It had always been a dream of his to track down his father and drag him back home, if only to placate his mother. There was that, and his real dream; to prove to the world that he wasn't lazy, that he could make a name for himself if he tried.

But Naruto didn't have to know about that dream now, did he?

"I don't care what society says." he grumbled. "Your kind is the worst! The absolute worst! You do whatever you want and don't regret anything You know what? Fine!" He shoved Naruto backwards with an effort. "Get out of here! Go out to sea and do as you please!"

"Is that so?" Naruto grinned as he brought the knife to bear on what precious little remained of the rope. "But I've already decided that you'll join me." He sliced through that cord in a swift, decisive movement, ending their discsussion. Freed from its tether, the boat began to drift from the dock, carried out to see by the ocean current. "C'mon! Lets set sail!"

"Dont decide that by yourself!"

Laughing, Naruto hopped onto the stern of the boat. Already the current was beginning to carry it past the dock; soon no one would be able to reach it.

"Will you die of boredom here, or come join me on adventure, Shikamaru?" He shouted. "Which will you choose?!"

Shikamaru dithered a moment longer before deciding. It was true that his mother was always pestering him to do something with his life...but this? This was insane! One look at Naruto told him the boy was absolutely serious; he was setting sail, with or without him. If he stayed in this town he was liaible to end up just like his father or worse; join the marines simply because he had nothing else to do! So appalling was this thought that he actually found himself seriously considering the pirate's offer.

He was running almost before he even realized it.

"Hurry up!" Naruto shouted. "You can make it!"

"I don't want to hear that from you, blackmailer!" Shikamaru shouted. He leapt long and high, clearing the dock in a single bound. His landing, however, wasn't anywhere near as graceful; his foot touched off the hull, leaving him pinwheeling, toppling backwards toward the waters of the bay. _Shit,_ he swore! _I'm going to fall! I'm going to-?_ Strong fingers wrapped around the Nara's forearm, dragging him the rest of the way onto the ship. Deprived of his balance, the genius toppled forward, his visage greeting the deck with a resounding thud.

"Ugh," he groaned, picking himself up. "You're the son of the devil, you know that, right?"

Naruto laughed as the genius hauled himself to his feet.

"How rude!" He grinned a ferocious grin, clasped his offer hand, and shook. "But close enough. I'm the son of Namikaze Minato, after all!"

There was a silence as his words sank in. Shikamaru blinked. Once. Twice. Thrice, as the gears of his mind struggled to turn, working ferverishly to process this new information. The words left his lips in a small squeak of surprise. It sounded a great deal like:

_"Ha?!"_

**A/N: Godamnit! I couldn't help myself! This was bound to happen! I'm still going to update the rest of my one piece and other works, but when this idea reared its head, I simply couldn't help but write it! Now, where are they headed next! That's up to you! I hope you liked Naruto's devil fruit!**

**As a note, Luffy and co. still exist and the events of the manga will STILL happen, this is merely a tall of what has happening nearby while our infamous Mugiwara was out living the life of a pirate! there will be some similarities to the trials Luffy and co. suffer sometimes, but for the most part, this is an original story. But that's where I'll be needing a bit of help from you guys and gals. WHO THE DEVIL SHOULD BE IN NARUTO'S CREW?! Shikamaru's obviously going to be the navigator but there's going to be a number of different characters onboard this fic! We still need a name for the ship, too! I was thinking...the Konoha? Yes? No?**

**Also, here's a glimpse at that wanted flyer Naruto was carrying around at the beginning of the story.**

**Minatao "Yellow Flash" Namikaze. **

**Bounty: 450,000,000 million berri.**

**Relatives: Uzumaki Naruto(Son) Uzumaki Kushina (Wife)**

**Status: Deceased. **

**So in the immortal words of Atlas...**

**...review, would you kindly?**


	2. Like Father Like Son

**A/N: Well, this was bount to happen sooner or later. I've been on such a One Piece craze as of late, I'm amazed it didn't happen earlier. I was catching up on old episodes for the sake of posterity when it hit me; gee, I wonder what it would be like to see Naruto characters in this universe? Not replacing Luffy or anything-Aa if such an thing could possibly happen!-but simply existing in this universe as One Piece versions of themselves all the same. This is the result of that thought. I swear if I write another new story without updating Imma chop my hand off! ARGH! Well, now that I've wasted five minutes of your time with this innane rant of mine...**

**...HERE YOU GO!**

_"So you're Minato's whelp, eh?"_

_~?_

**Like Father Like Son**

"Oho!" Naruto grinned from ear to ear as they made port three days later, all but bounding from the ship onto the dock._ "Laand!_ We've finally made land!" Shikamaru fought the urge to shake his head when his captain bounded from the vessel and onto the deck, all in the time it took for him to blink. That speed...it just wasn't natural

"Hai hai, we're finally here. Now will you help me tie this...

_...knot?"_ Naruto finished with a whistle, revealing he'd already tied the other three in the time it took the lazy genius to finish his sentence. Shikamaru gawped a moment longer before he finally recalled Naruto's ability; this would take some getting used to. The boy was probably one of_-if not the-_fastest pirate alive.

"I swear, I'm never going to get used to that."

Naruto laughed.

Shells Town was an idyllic little island, the location of the 153rd marine branch, formerly ruled by Captain "Axe-hand" Morgan. With the latter deposed, the villagers paid two men-albeit colorful ones-little heed. For this alone, Shikamaru was grateful. He hadn't gotten around to asking Naruto whether or not he had a bounty yet, and to be frank, he didn't want to know. The young man was like a hurricane with legs, thanks to the cruel and uncany powers afforded by his devil fruit.

"Honestly, he's like a little kid sometimes...

Already he'd learned the hard way; his captain was no ordinary man thanks to his uncanny powers. He could move faster than lightning. His other abilites made him almost ninja-like in that aspect; he could walk across water, create powerful techniques from his own internal resevoir of energy, even defy gravity and walk up walls when he wished it.

When asked why he simply couldn't _walk_ to the next island, the blond had fixed him with a strange glance and an even stranger reply.

_"Where's the romance in that, partner?"_

"I'm gonna go have a look around." The lazy genius blinked, drawn from his reverie by Naruto's sudden declaration. "Who knows, we just might find a nakama here!"

_'On an island crawling with marines?'_ Shikamaru sweatdropped. _'I kinda doubt that, but..._

"Alright, fine." he shrugged, not even bothering to ask why Naruto thought such a thing; it was ironic, really. Already he knew enough about Naruto to know the man was nigh unstoppable once he got something in his head. Especially when that something included finding another crewmate."We'll rendezvous back here at the ship after I've picked up a few things, got it?"

"Yosh!" His captain grinned. pausing only to slap the genius on the shoulder. "I'm counting on you, partner!"

"Don't get lost!" Shikamaru shouted at his back, but Naruto was already gone, leaving the Nara's word's to echo into empty air. He could only hope his captain wouldn't be accosted by any strangers while _he_ purchased some much needed supplies for their voyage. The thought almost made him laugh. If anyone was going to do any accosting, it would be Naruto. After witnessing his trouncing of Alvida, he rather doubted anyone would be able to hold a candle to his partner's speed, much less his strength.

_'Great, I'm already thinking of him as my captain..._

He thought back to what Naruto had told him aboard the ship shortly after their first voyage.

* * *

_(Flashback)_

_"You're the son of the Yellow Flash?!"_

_"Yup!" Naruto grinned like a chesire cat from where he hung off the railing. Another thing he'd learned about his captain; Naruto did **not** like to sit still. Proably a side effect of being so damnably fast. His mind was ever on alert, always racing with thoughts and ideas. At the moment, Shikamaru sympathized. His mind was also trying to go in ten different directions at once._

_Naruto was the son of the Yellow Flash. Formerly one of the most wanted men in the world before his execution, he'd rampaged around the seas shortly after the death of Gold Roger and supposedly discovered the lost island of **Raftel** shortly before he'd died at the hands of the marines. _

_Some said he was a former ally of Whitebeard. Others called him the brother of Gold Roger. Still others claimed he was a marine admiral gone rogue. So many rumors had sprung up in the wake of his death that it was nigh impossible to distinguish truth from fiction. There was only one truth everyone had accepted; that man had made an enemy of the World Government_

His_ father-former wielder of the Kage Kage no mi-had gone out to sea with that very man! Shikamaru had been too young back then to remember much but his mother hadn't; to this day she'd constantly harped about it: 'Don't become a good-for-nothing pirate like your father!' And here he'd done just that! With the son of the man who'd wooed his pops away to the seas! The irony was not lost on him. If only his mother could see it now; her son growing up to be neer-do-well just like his old man!_

_"Did you ever see a man that looked like me, but older?" he indicated himself with a hand. "I think he served with your old man."_

_Naruto's face lit up like a Christmas tree._

_"I knew it!"_

_"Eh?" Shikamaru blinked, taken aback by the blonde's outburst._

_"We **were **destined to meet!" he laughed, slinging an arm around the Nara's shoulder, drawing him close. "The sons of the fathers, setting out on their own voyage!"_

_"Right." The deadpan was barely concealed._

_"So have you seen him?"_

_"I'm not sure." Naruto shrugged. "Dad didn't come home often." He peered at him intently. "I think I might've seen someone like that, when I was little."_

_(End Flashback)_

* * *

The Nara shook his head absently fingering the seastone knives in their holster, his gloved fingers brushing over their smooth surface with loving, delicate care. They'd belonged to his mentor, Sarutobi Asuma. The man had been a marine once and he'd taught Shikamaru everything he knew when it came to combat. Supposedly seastone was the only was to comast devil fruit users. And yet for some reason he himself felt queasy when he touched them without wearing these thick gloves. Perhaps he had his father to thank for that; the man _had _eaten the Kage Kage no mi after all.

Maybe if he'd had that ability, Asuma-sensei wouldn't have died.

That was Shikamaru's third and final_-and utterly secret-_dream, to find the man who had killed his mentor. To seek out the one who'd savaged his friendship with Ino, and Chouji, and make him pay. His friends had long since given up trying to find that fiend, but not him. Five years had passed since that fateful day and he still had only the barest of descriptions to go on

"Alright then, time to see what I can find."

* * *

Naruto couldn't keep the smile from his face as he strode through the street. There was a spring in his step, and within good reason. He already had his first nakama! Learning that Shikamaru's father had been the first mate of _his _father...well, that was just icing on the cake, that it was! From what he'd seen so far the Nara was a fine navigator, if a tad withdrawn. But Naruto didn't mind. He knew Shikamaru would open eventually, as he had when they'd first met. But for now, he wanted to at least secure another crewmember before they left Shells Town.

"Did you hear?" One passerby said to another. "Roronora Zoro took down Captain Morgan!"

"Roronora Zoro?" Naruto blinked in surprise, training one ear to the conversation.

"Yeah, I heard he left with some strawhat kid after that."

_Strawhat?_

The son of Minato tilted his head in confusion. From the look of things, he'd just missed out on something interesting. And just who was this Strawhat?

So intent was he on their conversation, he didn't notice where he was going.

"Oof!" Naruto grunted as he slammed headlong into an unsuspecting bystander. "Ah, sorry."

The man grumbled a reply:

"Its nothing_-huh?" _he stopped short, peering intently at the blond before him.

Naruto found himself face to face with a great mountain of a man. Smaller than the dreaded Axe-hand Morgan, but intimidating all the same; his pallid grey flesh looked as though it hadn't seen the sun in a long, _loong_ time, and were it not for the vest and slacks he wore, Naruto might've thought him a zombie. Bandages wreathed the lower half of his face and hid his expression, but his eyes-those cold, dead eyes-betrayed the smile beneath the wrappings. Kami, that was a huge-ass sword on his back. A zanbato?

"You?!"

_Shit,_ Naruto wondered nervously as the man jerked backwards. A thrill of fear ran its flighty fingers up his spine. _Did I do something?_

"Eh?" The blond blinked. "Have we met before...?"

"So you're Minato's whelp, eh?" The pale stranger ignored the question, instead rearing his head back to get a better look at Naruto. "You look just like him. _Just like this."_ Naruto froze as the massive man stabbed his hand into a coat pocket and emerged with what looked like a crumpled newspaper. Naruto froze.

_"This is you, right?"_

The man was holding what looked like an ordinary News Coo paper, but what really claimed his attention was the wanted poster that obscured its headline. It was normal size and shape…but several things about it made it stand out. For one, it showed a handsone young man–with ragged blond hair and blue eyes that glittered intently down at the camera. The picture had probably been taken from the ground if the angle was anything to tell by.

In the middle of a crowded street his attire was painfully apparent– black and orange attire, broad shoulders and a flat stomach, muscles more than toned –whiskers tripling either cheek. His mouth hung open in an odd rictus of confusion; lips frozen in a half smile as though he hadn't expected his picture to be taken and hadn't time to prepare.

The bounty read a six and eight zeroes. One Hundred Million Berries. 100,000,000. But the most bizarre thing about the poster was that, under WANTED…the last two words in "Dead or Alive" had been crossed out for some strange reason, leaving only the letters D-E-A-D.

And that the name on the poster was Uzumaki Naruto.

Naruto choked. "…Current…!"

When the hell had _that_ happened?! He felt a cold sweat break out across his face the longer he looked at all those zeroes. When indeed? Granted, he'd wiped out a corrupt marine base back home before setting out on his adventure, but this? For his first bounty?! _Granted,_ he _was_ the son of a notorious pirate, but still! This was downright absurd! But still...he had a bounty! The longer he looked at it, the less fear he felt.

"Gimme that!" he snatched the flyer out of the man's hands, peered at it. Stars shone in his eyes. "Ha!" he laughed. "I've already got one! A bounty! It's already this high!" He nearly danced in place.

"Don't bother denying it, kid." The pale hunter would not be dissuaded. "The Name's Momochi." He leered down at him. _"Zabuza Momochi._ Ring a bell?"

"Ahahaha," Naruto bristled, and not just because of the wanted flyer in his face. He _knew_ that name! "And you knew my old man?" He knew from past experiences that anyone who knew his father was bad news. There had been many bounty hunters who wanted his old man dead out on the Grand Line, and now that he was, well...suffice it to say they were less than pleased. His father had oft sung the praises of one bounty hunter, in particular, a man whom Naruto had silently sworn never to cross. Zabuza Momochi. Infamous in the pirate-hunting business, he'd made a name for himself by collecting the heads of his opponents; never deigning to be merciful, always bringing them back dead rather than alive.

"You knew him?"

Zabuza let out an angry exhalation of breath.

_"Knew him?"_ the man growled, fingers curling around the hollow hilt of his cleaver. "I despised him!" That bastard...do you have any idea what he did to me?!" He didn't give Naruto the chance to ask. "Back then, I had a perfect track record! No one escaped me! Until I met him! The bounty on that no good bastard was mine! And what does he do? He gets himself killed fighting the navy!" With a flourish of motion he drew the massive cleaver from his back and brought it to the fore. "Well, if I can't have the father...

_...then the son will do just fine!"_

Naruto blurred backwards of the way just in time; because the man was a great deal faster than he gave him credit for. He was already moving-overconfident in his ability to escape-and because of that, the man nearly took his head. He winced as the massive zanbato flew from the hunter's back, crashed into the street mere centimeters from where he'd been steanding; the sudden explosion of dust and dirt causing passerby to pause and glance at the sudden commotion. He had the succinct feeling he wouldn't like what came next. He could _taste _the bloodlust in the air; the man wanted his head!

"Can't we talk about this?!"

Sadly, Zabuza wasn't in the mood for talking.

_"ORA!"_

* * *

Shikamaru felt the explosion three blocks away. He also saw it. A mushroom cloud of smoke and dust rose from the town square and spiraled high into the atmosphere, sending townsfolk scrambling for cover, shrieking for the marines. There was no need for him to guess; the Nara could clearly sense Naruto in the thick of things, fighting for his life.

The genius facepalmed.

"That idiot...I should've known better!" He dropped the supplies he'd purchased and broke into a run toward the town square. It wasn't difficult to find; he only had to run opposite the screaming civilians. And whilst he ran, he wondered. Honestly, what was his captain thinking?! You'd have to be a fool to start trouble here! Apparently-as another tremor rocked the street-Naruto was such a fool

A hail of needles struck the street, forcing before

"What the hell?"

A young woman wreathed in a white tunic emerged from what looked like a _mirror of ice_ and moved to intercept him; her languid stride barring his path. She bore what looked like_-shit!-_needless, clenched between her knuckles. Her doe-brown orbs were soft yet sad as they beheld him, as though she abhored life itself. Abruptly they harded like chips of diamond, narrow and intent upon him. Shikamaru regarded her warily. She must be some sort of ability user, he recalled, seeing that mirror of ice. Lovely.

"I'm sorry," she began in a rich, melodious voice, "But I cannot allow you to interfere with Zabuza-sama's business."

"Well, shit...

* * *

"Shit!"

Naruto skittered backwards with a pained hiss, blood spurting from a wound; another near miss. How the hell was this happening? Despite his peerless speed he hadn't been able to avoid the man's _Kubikirihoucho_ thus far; and he strongly suspected when the man finally stopped toying with him, he wouldn't be able to do so much longer. Because Zabuza was doing just that. Toying with him. He could've easily taken his head with any number of those swings; instead he allowed the blond to regroup and come at him again each time.

"What's wrong, boy?" Zabuza Momochi, demon of the mist and pirate-hunter extrordinaire shouldered his blade, sneering as the blond picked himself up off floor. "I thought you were stronger than this."

"It's...nothing!" Naruto spat a bloodied gob onto the street, cursing himself for the momentary lapse.

"That's the spirit!"

Zabuza lunged forward witha snarl, his speed surprising Naruto as he swung his sword down at the top of his head. He blocked upward with both his kunai, but the two-handed strike was powerful enough to knock him onto his back. The demon lurched forward again, hitting the street as the blond barely made it to his feet in time. He darted backward, again missing a slash intended for his midsection. This man was a monster! Those brutal backswings of his seemed to cut the air itself; the plaza bore clear evidence of that. And now he knew he woldn't be able to sustain a direct hit.

"Your arms are trembling," Zabuza deep voice rumbled out from within his bandages, "Uzumaki Naruto."

"Yeah, right." Naruto countered sardonically as he forced them to stop trembling and he straightened up as much as he could, puffing out his chest slightly. "See, that's from excitement; I'm about to kick your ass and my arms know it."

"Really?" Zabuza asked before vanishing in a swirl of motion and mist, appearing directly in front of Naruto. The pirate's azure-colored eyes widened as the bounty hunter in front of him raised the massive zanbato over his head. "We'll see about that."

The giant sword came crashing down with tremendous speed, Naruto barely being able to dodge the attack as it turned that particular section of the sidewalk into a pile of pebbles. He took off in a flash, hoping to place some distance between himself and the rogue and possibly prepare a rasengan_. _The whistling sound of a falling blade suddenly filled his ears, as the gigantic frame of Zabuza Momochi filled his peripheral vision. Naruto snapped his head to the left, but the hunter had already sprung his assault; the back of _Kubikirihoucho_ swung up from below and slapped the captain into the air.

The demon sprang up at him with a maddened cackle, his massive body uncoiling like a cobra. Naruto flickered away again as the cleaver slammed ito the street, streaming crimson in his retreat. Too slow. Zabuza was there to greet him again the instant he re-merged from his Hiraishin, that massive cleaver of his screaming down toward the blonde's head.

_No time!_

Naruto brought up a kunai, bracing it with his forearm and shoulder, taking the forceful attack straight on. _Heavy...! _The massive blade slammed into him, sending him tumbling head over heels into -then through- one of the many walls dotting the plaza.

Zabuza kept his distance as the blond knelt and picked himself up off the floor. When he spoke, his voice was thick with scorn.

"You're nothing like your old man, kid."

Like an iron trap, Naruto's gaze locked onto the hunter's own. The sheer intensity of his stare, the sudden ice in his expression, was enough to silence the plaza. Nothing moved. Nothing at all. And then he spoke, voice black as pitch, eyes cold as the coldest winter.

"Say that again."

Zabuza's shadow loomed over him.

"I said you're nothing like your father!"

Naruto raised another kunai in a desperate attempt at a parry, but Zabuza's blade slashed through it and bit into his side, immediately staining his orange jacket red. The force of the slash sent him careening across the courtyard for a second time. A trail of blood and shattered metal followed him, sprinkled on the floor tiles. The hunter peered into the rubble after his prey waiting patiently. He wasn't dissapointed. A clenched fist thrust itself upward through the rust and rotten dust,

Naruto stood and turned, looking at him over a bloodied shoulder, his chest heaving silently.

"Well kid, its been fun." Zabuza sighed and raised his hands. "Lets end this with your head still intact, shall we?"

**"Kirigakure." _(Hidden Mist)_**

Naruto suddenly realized he no longer had a clear line of sight on his opponent; because where Momochi had been there was now only mist; a terrible, pervasive fog cutting off all clarity. Heavy and laden with moisture the air itself seemed to hang over him like a guillotine, ready to take his head. Zabuza could just imagine the boy's terror; his resolve crumbling in the face of this horrible revelation. There could be no greater fear than when you could not see your opponent.

"In case you haven't realized it by now, I'm a devil fruit user just like you." the hunter's voice taunted its prey from every angle. "I ate the Kiri Kiri no mi. I'm a mist man! You can't touch me!" He watched the blond try to muster his courage, saw him hang his head. There! He was broken and beaten. Time to end him.

_"Now, where to cut you?"_

He whispered into existence behind the boy, brought _Kubikirihouchou_ up for the kill-

Naruto lunged backwards, the sudden surge of speed surprising Zabuza as he swung an open palm down at the top of his head. The huter blocked upward with his zanbato, but the blonde's one-handed strike had never been meant for the large blade. Clenched knuckles barreled into the mist man's face; bending bone and crushing cartilege, launchig him onto his back. Zabuza almost gasped in surprise; that kid, had actually been able to hit him just now while he was incorporeal! But how?! He could taste the blood in his mouth, evidence of his wound.

Naruto lashed out again_-again without looking!-_and the man of the mist melted away, dissolving into the insidious fog surrounding them. _Calm down._ he told himself. _He got a lucky shot in. That was all. This kid cannot possibly have the 'willpower' like his old man. He can't! If he had haki, I would've sensed it by now!_

"Grrr...you got lucky there, kid!

Naruto straightened; he stood woodenly, not taking enough care.

Zabuza lurched forward again, his sword hitting the tiles as he Naruto sidestepped at the last instant. A backfist to the face shattered his nose, elicting a yowl of pain. The hunter barely made it to his feet in time before he saw the spiraling sphere clenched within the blonde's palm. He darted backward as the rasengan smashed into the stree, narrowly evading a slash intended for his midsection.

_How the hell is he doing this?!_ he fought the urge to snarl as he retreated to the safety of the mis tonce more._ I had him on the ropes! He shouldn't be able to fight back!_

"That's enough playing around." Naruto's voice cut through the mist. "You woin't be able to hit me anymore."

Zabuza growled

"Che...you get a few lucky hits in and suddenly you think you can win?!"

Naruto grinned.

"I don't think...I know."

There came a harsh clatter as Naruto discarded the metal vambraces on his wrists.

"I didn't want to use this, ya know." He crossed his arms and exhaled forcibly. "Its murder on my body." Lightning lanced outward from his back and shoulders, cutting into the cloth of his jacket and bracers. Fabric fled from the racing energies, fluttering away in the breeze. "I _would_ like to call this an original technique...sadly, I can't take credit for it. Neither can my old man. He learned this from someone else, just like me. Just like I promised _her_ I would never use this technique unless I absolutely had to. To be frank, I _could_ beat you without it, but...I want to make an example of you. I'm gonna prove that I'm every bit as strong as my old man."

_"Gomen,"_ Naruto breathed aloud,_ "Yoruichi-sensei."_

Zabuza had half a heartbeat to wonder just who this "Yoruichi" was before he felt it. _Thunder._ Reverberating in the air around him, welling up in the atmosphere, sinking its icy tendrils into his incorporeal form. A snake of dread coiled in his gut, a snake of losing everything he'd ever known. He wasn't going to lose! He would not lose!

_"Shunko."_

With that single declaration, the ground cratered beneath Uzumaki Naruto; his all-consuming energies cutting into the fog like white-hot scythes. Too late, Zabuza realized his own peril. Water and lightning did not mix no matter the circumstances. And mist was no exception. With all this condensation in the atmosphere-oh dear.

_"Aaaargh!"_

Zabuza screamed; _screamed_ as a thousand tongues of carckling pain found him in the mist and dragged him out, scalding his skin. He collapsed to the street, steaming, lightning still crackling across his body like living wires. It felt as if someone had poured a thousand volts down his spine. Somehow, someway, he found the strength to stand.

"You...damned brat!"

Naruto stood tall and proud, electricity crackling from every inch of his form. It wasn't so much that he'd become lightning; rather, it had become him. He was bending the very elements to his will, just as his progenitor had once done. But this...this was on an entirely different level from what the "Yellow Flash" had been able to wield! Galled, he watched the blond take a stance; legs spread, arm forward, fingers beckoning. Those eyes of his blazed like white fire; purging any hint of sapphire behind those blue eyes.

"Give it up," Naruto warned, his words rumbling like thunder. "You...won't be able to keep up with me anymore."

"We'll see about-

With a sudden whisper, Uzumaki Naruto appeared behind Zabuza, his limbs engulfed in the bright white light of _shunkou. _He was extremely close to the hunter, his powerful leg bent back and ready to snap forward at his skull. Zabuza saw him and reached down for Kubikiribouchou, but he wasn't going to be fast enough. Any hope of him, out-maneuvering the son of the "Yellow Flash" was non-existent the moment that Naruto had entered this sublime state.

**"This is for insulting the old man!"**

_Pain._

A starburst of agony split Zabuza's skull in the same instant that Naruto struck, sending him careening across the plaza like a rag doll. His body carromed off the foutain in the center of the square and split it in twine; a harsh crack that might've been bone or stone split the silence. His face struck, then became intimate with the street in a way no self-respecting bounty hunter desired. Zabuza tried to rise, tried to find his weapon, tried to do so many things but his limbs weren't responding properly. His entire body had gone numb after that single strike; his mist having dissipated during his sudden lapse of control.

_Shit. So this is how it ends...huh?_

A shadow fell over him.

"Might as well finish the job, kid." Zabuza muttered, turning his head to look his killer in the eye. "If you don't, I'll just keep coming after you. Although," He chortled bleakly. "Haku's probably already skewered that odd friend of yours by now. So I guess we're even." The blond didn't so much as bat an eyelash at the insult.

"I wouldn't doubt Shikamaru." Naruto's gaze drifted shut. "...hmm. I think he just finished with her. And he did say to meet back at the ship...

Zabuza couldn't believe it. Haku, defeated?! Impossible! The girl was like a daughter to him; once he might've considered her a mere tool, but that was long ago. It was-arguably-one of the few things the 'Yellow Flash' had changed in him. When he'd taken on an apprentice years after the man's death...he'd ended up raising a daughter instead. The mere thought of her dying was enough to make the mist man's blood run cold. There was no one else in this god-forsaken world who mattered more to him than that girl. If she was dead...

"."

"You really want me to kill you?"

"Didn't I just say that?"

Naruto seemed to consider it for a moment.

"Nah." he decided with a shake of the heat. "I've got a better idea."

"Eh?"

The blonde's grin shone down at him like the sun.

"Become my nakama!"

There was a silence, as the bloodied, battered, and beaten hunter stared up at him, processing the words of his former prey. This kid...! Those were the very same words the "Yellow Flash" had said to him years before, to this very day! Did he have any idea just what he was suggesting?! Unbidden, Zabuza Momochi felt rage. Pure, unmitigated rage. Then:

_"LIKE HELL I WILL!"_

"Too bad!" Naruto dipped down to grab him off the ground, slinging the larger man over his shoulder, sword and all. "I've already decided! You'll be our swordsman! I'm sure we'll be able to find a place for this _Haku_ of yours, too!" Incredulous, Zabuza tried to reply, but a lance of agony from his lower back stopped the words cold. He wouldn't be moving properly for a day or two, after suffering a hit like that. But the pain meant little in the face of the blonde's challenge. Did he really think he could just kidnap them and except them to be his nakama?

"Are you even listening to me, you shitty kid?!"

Naruto was most certainly not listening!

"To the ship!"

_"Oi!"_

**A/N: Godamnit! I couldn't help myself! This was bound to happen! I'm still going to update the rest of my one piece and other works, but when this idea reared its head, I simply couldn't help but write it! Now, where are they headed next! That's up to you! As for the name of their vessel...Seishin sounds rather pleasant, given that it is Japanese for Spirit. Which Naruto's crew will have with abundance. So Seishin it is! Naruto and Shikamaru had found themselves a fight! Zabuza and fem!Haku are his nakama now?! But just how did Shikamaru win?! Find out next chappy! I believe Haku could be a doctor-what we've seen certainly suggests medical experience-in this universe.**

**And to those of you who were wondering, yes the Shunko is a technique taken from Bleach. Doesn't mean bleach characters are going to pop up in this fic though...unless ya'll want them to? Think of Shunko as Naruto's version of Second Gear; extremely powerful, but deadly to himself if used in excess. At current, he can only hold the technique for less than a minute. But as you can see, the minute often proves to be a very painful one for the enemy...Anywho, I sincerely hope you liked the chapter!**

**So in the immortal words of Atlas...**

**...review, would you kindly?**


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